Editing Brittany (section)

===Architecture===
[[File:Fr Josselin Castle from river with flowers.JPG|thumb|[[Josselin Castle]]]]
Brittany is home to many [[megalith]]ic monuments; the words ''[[menhir]]'' and ''[[dolmen]]'' come from the [[Breton language]]. The largest menhir alignments are the [[Carnac stones]]. Other major sites include the [[Barnenez]] [[cairn]], the [[Locmariaquer megaliths]], the [[Menhir de Champ-Dolent]], the [[Mane Braz]] [[tumulus]] and the [[Gavrinis]] tomb. Monuments from the [[Roman Gaul|Roman]] period are rare, but include a large temple in [[Corseul]] and scarce ruins of villas and city walls in [[Rennes]] and [[Nantes]].

Brittany has a large number of medieval buildings. They include numerous [[Romanesque style|Romanesque]] and [[French Gothic]] churches, usually built in local [[sandstone]] and [[granite]], castles and half-timbered houses visible in villages, towns and cities. Several Breton towns still have their medieval walls, such as [[Guérande]], [[Concarneau]], [[Saint-Malo]], [[Vannes]], [[Fougères]] and [[Dinan]]. Major churches include [[Saint-Pol-de-Léon Cathedral]], [[Tréguier Cathedral]], [[Dol Cathedral]], [[Nantes Cathedral]] and the [[Kreisker chapel]]. Most of the Breton castles were rebuilt between the 13th and the 15th century, such as the [[Château de Suscinio]], the [[Château de Dinan]], the [[Château de Combourg]], the [[Château de Largoët]], the [[Château de Tonquédec]], the [[Josselin Castle]] and the [[Château de Trécesson]]. The most impressive castles can be seen along the border with France, where stand the [[Château de Fougères]], the [[Château de Vitré]], the [[Château de Châteaubriant]] and the [[Château de Clisson]].

[[File:Cahire.JPG|thumb|left|A traditional house in [[Plougoumelen]]]]
The [[French Renaissance]] occurred when Brittany lost its independence. The Renaissance architecture is almost absent in the region, except in [[Upper Brittany]], close to the border with France. Major sites include the [[Château des ducs de Bretagne]], the last permanent residence of the dukes, which displays the transition from late Gothic to Renaissance style. The [[Château de Châteaubriant]], a former fortress, was transformed into a vast palace in the Italian style.

[[File:Bénodet - Le Minaret.jpg|thumb|upright|An [[Art Deco]] villa in [[Bénodet]]]]
In [[Lower Brittany]], the medieval style never totally disappeared. However, local innovations permitted some changes and the birth of a particular style. Its most distinctive feature is the [[parish close]], which displays an elaborately decorated church surrounded by an entirely walled churchyard. Many villages still have their closes, they date from the 16th and 17th centuries and sometimes include an elaborately carved [[calvary (sculpture)|calvary sculpture]].

During the 17th and the 18th centuries, the main [[seaport]]s and towns obtained a typical French look, with [[baroque]] and [[neoclassical architecture|neoclassical]] buildings. [[Nantes]], which was at the time the biggest French harbour, received a theatre, large avenues and quays, and [[Rennes]] was redesigned after a fire in 1720. At the same period, the wealthy [[ship-owner]]s from [[Saint-Malo]] built many mansions called "Malouinières" around their town. Along the coast, [[Vauban]] and other French architects designed several citadels, such as in [[Le Palais]] and [[Port-Louis, Morbihan|Port-Louis]]. In rural areas, Breton houses remained simple, with a single floor and a [[longhouse]] pattern. They were built with local materials: mostly granite in [[Lower Brittany]] and [[schist]] in [[Upper Brittany]]. [[Slate]]s and [[thatching|reeds]] were usually used for roofing. During the 19th century, the Breton architecture was mainly characterised by the [[Gothic Revival]] and [[Eclecticism]]. [[Clisson]], the southernmost Breton town, was rebuilt in an Italian [[Romanticism|Romantic]] style around 1820. The Breton [[lighthouse]]s were mostly built during the 19th century. The most famous are [[Ar Men]], [[Phare d'Eckmühl]], [[La Vieille]] and [[La Jument]]. The lighthouse on the [[Île Vierge]] is, with 77 meters, the highest in Europe.

At the end of the 19th century, several [[seaside resort]]s were created along the coast and villas and hotels were built in [[historicism (art)|historicist]], [[Art Nouveau]], and later in the [[Art Deco]] styles. These architectures are particularly present in [[Dinard]], [[La Baule]] and [[Bénodet]]. Architecture from the 20th century can be seen in [[Saint-Nazaire]], [[Brest, France|Brest]] and [[Lorient]], three cities destroyed during the [[Second World War]] and rebuilt afterwards, and in the works of the Breton nationalist architects like [[James Bouillé]] and [[Olier Mordrel]].